Hi,
I'm Chris McDonald,
Licensed therapist,
And welcome to this Ground and Center Meditation.
So go ahead and get yourself in a comfortable position.
You could be seated or laying down,
Whatever feels best for you in this moment.
Just try to settle in to be as present as you can,
Making a mental intention to be here,
Letting go of any activities of the day,
Releasing yourself from to-do lists of what's to come the rest of the day,
Allowing yourself to be here,
Giving yourself that permission.
And it can help to have your eyes closed or just look at the floor gently in front of you just for a moment.
Notice your overall energy.
Where are you right now?
How is your emotion?
Has it been a stressful day or more of ease for you today?
Just taking note of what is,
What has been,
And tuning into your right foot.
Just notice how it's feeling right now.
Wiggling your right toes.
If your foot's on the floor,
Go ahead and push it into the floor just to feel that tension in your leg,
Grounding sensation,
And release.
See if you can point your foot,
Right foot,
And flex.
Nice,
Slow,
Gentle movements,
Grounding in to your body,
And release that movement.
Make some slow ankle rolls,
And then going the other way.
Good.
Then releasing that gentle movement with the right foot,
Tuning into the toes,
Noticing any tension in the middle of the foot,
The arches,
Or in the ball of the foot,
Or the heel.
Just notice any color.
Is there any color that comes up for you as you think about your right foot?
Is it a warm color,
Like a yellow,
Orange,
Or a cool color,
Like a green or a blue?
Then tune into your left foot.
Notice any sensations in your entire foot.
Wiggle those left toes.
Point and flex,
Just gentle,
Slow movements,
Bringing your awareness back into your body.
When you're ready,
Just doing some slow ankle rolls with that left foot,
And then going the other direction,
Taking your time.
It's not a race,
And releasing that slow movement.
Just notice any tension in the center of that left foot,
The ball of the foot,
The heel,
And the ankle.
Is there any color that comes up as you tune into that left foot?
Is it a warm color,
A cool color,
Or a neutral color?
Moving on to the right calf.
What is there for you right now?
Is there any tension,
Sensation,
Back of the calf,
Front of the lower leg?
Any color that you notice?
And the left calf,
Noticing what's there.
Any tightness or no sensation?
Top of the left leg,
Any color that comes up?
The right knee.
Is there any pain or sensation?
Top of the knee,
Sides,
Behind the knee?
And moving to the left,
Left knee,
Top,
Sides of the knee,
Bottom of the knee,
Underneath,
Moving to the right thigh,
Top of the thigh,
Any tension,
Sensation,
Or noticing no sensation?
Bottom,
Underneath the right thigh,
Noticing what's there.
The hamstrings,
And the left thigh,
Top of the thigh,
Underneath,
With the hamstrings,
Noticing any tension?
Any other color come to mind as you tune in to the upper thighs,
Both thighs,
Both knees,
Both calves,
And both feet,
Noticing what's there.
Coming to the middle of your body,
Noticing the front of your body,
Your belly,
Noticing how your stomach's feeling.
Is it comfortable or is it gurgling?
Moving up to your chest,
Any tension or is it more relaxed?
And your low back,
What is there?
Any pain or sensation?
Mid back,
Upper back,
Tuning in to any sensation,
Being present with what is.
Any color come to mind in the middle of your body?
A fiery color or a cooler color or something more neutral?
Noticing your right shoulder,
What is there?
The front of the shoulder,
Back of the shoulder,
Upper arm,
Front of the upper arm,
And the back,
Elbow,
Noticing sensation,
Lower right arm,
Hand,
And the palm,
And the back of the hand,
What is there?
And the right fingers,
All the way to the tips.
Just notice any color for your arm or fingers.
And moving to the left shoulder,
Front of the shoulder,
Back of the shoulder,
Just really tuning in,
What is there?
Front of the upper arm,
Back of the upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower left arm on the front,
And then the back,
And the palm of the left hand,
The back of the left hand,
And the fingers,
All the way to the fingertips,
What is there?
And noticing both shoulders at the same time.
Overall,
Do you notice heaviness or is there lightness or other sensation?
Moving to the back of the neck,
Where a lot of us hold tension,
Just see what's there for you.
What are you carrying in the front of the neck,
Throat?
Moving to the back of the head,
Any headache or tension?
The sides of the head,
Top of the head,
Any tingling do you notice in the front of your face?
Just see if you can soften that space between your eyes,
Noticing your jaw,
If there's any tension there.
And just tune into your whole entire being,
Your whole body right now.
Where are you?
And just imagine from your tailbone that there's an energy cord bringing you,
Going from your tailbone all the way into the earth,
Grounded,
Centered,
And that cord goes all the way to the core of the earth.
You are here,
You are centered,
You are connected to this moment,
You are in your body,
Releasing what you need through that cord so that you can fully be present for who you are.
And allow that cord to dissolve,
Coming back to your hands and just noticing your breath.
Has that shifted at all or is it the same?
And there's no judgment,
Whatever it is,
Is okay.
Notice if it's slower,
Deeper breaths or more short,
Shallow breaths.
And when you're ready,
Just bringing your awareness back to the room where you are,
Noticing sounds in the room or any sensation of a chair beneath you or the floor.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes and welcome back.
And just notice what feeling is there and hopefully you can carry this with you the rest of the day.
And I wish you the best.
Take care.
